Spain, Honduras pull out of Iraq

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A fledgling deal has been struck to end fighting in Iraq's Sunni guerrilla
stronghold of Fallujah, as Spain began pulling its troops out of the country and
Honduras announced it would do the same.

Meanwhile, US forces have given Iraqi mediators more time to resolve a
standoff with a rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his militia in the holy
city of Najaf.

In blows for US-led forces in Iraq, Spain yesterday began withdrawing its
1,400 troops, and Honduras said it would follow suit, pulling out its 370 troops
"in the shortest possible time".

US President George W Bush called new Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero to say he regretted Spain's pullout decision and warned
Madrid against giving "false comfort to terrorists", White House spokesman Scott
McClellan said.

Bush, campaigning for re-election in November, signalled the importance he
attaches to Iraq by appointing the top US diplomat at the United Nations, John
Negroponte, to be his ambassador to Baghdad when US administrator Paul Bremer
stands down on June 30.

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The US-led administration in Iraq said US-led forces would not resume an
offensive against the Sunni guerrillas holed up in the bloodied city of
Fallujah, 50km west of Baghdad, if they turned in their heavy weapons.

Negotiators had agreed after three days of talks to work towards a real and
lasting ceasefire in Fallujah, the administration's chief spokesman Dan Senor
said.

US military spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said the 24 hours to
last night had been "remarkably" quiet in Iraq, with no troops killed and
attacks well below levels seen in the past two weeks.

It was unclear how much influence Fallujah officials have on the estimated
1,000 to 2,000 guerrillas, as flare-ups of fighting have occurred during a shaky
truce over the past 10 days.

"The parties agreed that (US-led) coalition forces do not intend to resume
offensive operations if the persons in the city turn in their heavy weapons,"
Senor said.

Iraqi police and US troops would start joint patrols in Fallujah to try and
restore order, he said.

US forces launched a crackdown in Fallujah after a spate of violence,
including the killing and mutilation of four US contractors in the town on March
31. They encircled it and vowed to capture those responsible for the killings.

On top of a months-old battle against Sunni guerrillas, US-led forces have
faced a new front this month against Shi'ite fighters led by rebel cleric Sadr.

New Pentagon figures showed 110 US soldiers had been killed in action since
March 31 when US troops launched a major crackdown against guerrillas - more
than in the three-week war that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Since US-led forces invaded Iraq in March last year, 509 US soldiers have
been killed in action.

Hundreds of Iraqis, many civilians, were killed in an upsurge of violence in
the country that began on March 31.

The commander of 2,500 US troops outside Najaf - a holy city to Iraq's
Shi'ite majority -- said he would allow time for talks before any attempt to
enter the city to seize Sadr, which could spark a wider and bloodier uprising.

"Because of where negotiations are right now, we can wait," Colonel Dana
Pittard said.

"We still want Iraqis to solve the
problem."

The US military has said it
wants to kill or capture Sadr, who is holed up in Najaf, and destroy his Mehdi
Army militia.

It says Sadr is wanted by an Iraqi judge in connection with the murder of
another cleric.

Meanwhile, US-funded Iraqiya Television said two of its staff were killed by
US forces while working in Samarra, north of Baghdad. The US military said it
had no immediate information.

Spain's new Socialist government said the process of withdrawing the 1,400
Spanish troops in Iraq -- the sixth largest contingent in US-led forces -- had
begun and would be completed in less than six weeks.

Zapatero said on Sunday that he made the pullout decision in line with an
election pledge because he did not see the United Nations taking over security
arrangements on June 30 when Washington plans to hand over power to Iraqis.

Honduras announced its troop withdrawal in a fresh sign of nervousness among
some countries in the US-led coalition over the latest violence.

"I have told the coalition countries that the troops are going to return from
Iraq," President Ricardo Maduro said.

"I have ordered ... the carrying out of the decision taken in the shortest
possible time and under safe conditions for our troops."

Soldiers from Honduras, a strong US ally in Central America, were sent to
Iraq as peacekeepers and have been clearing mines and providing medical care in
central Iraq.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday said Italian troops would
stay in Iraq to help with reconstruction and the transfer of power to the new
Iraqi government.

"Italy's commitment is aimed at the rebirth of a free and sovereign Iraq,
where the Iraqi people can live in peace and security," he said in a statement.

Kidnappers in Iraq have killed one of four private Italian security workers
abducted last week.

The kidnappers are demanding Italy withdraw its 2,700 troops from Iraq.